Art of electrical distribution.



R. 1). CUTLER & P. OWENS. ART OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10. 1911.

Patented J an. 9, 1912.

mam aims UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH D. CUTIiER AND MICHAEL F. OWE-NS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNORS TO THE HARTFORD ELECTRIC IiIGI-IT COMPANY, OF HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT, A

CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ART OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9,1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat we, RALPH D. CUTLER and MICHAEL F. ()wnNs, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford andState of Gonnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in theArt of Electrical Distribution, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a method of distributing, on the premises of aconsumer, electrical energy furnished by a public service corporation. Aconsumer, who is provided with various electrical. translatingapparatus, such as lamps, water heaters, roast-- ing and baking ovens,boiling and stewing cookers, pressing irons, and motors, the aggregatecapacity of which is large, but which are not all utilized at the sametime, can by this method be supplied from a cen; tral stationcontinuously with a definite uni form amount of electrical energy thatis less than the aggregate capacity of all the apparatus, but suflicientto efficiently operate such apparatus as the consumer desires to utilizeat anyone time.

The object of this invention is to arrange such a system of distributionon the premises of the consumer that, while he may be provided withvarious kinds of electrical translating apparatus which in the aggregaterequire more current, he will at any one time only use the predeterminedfixed amount of current that he has contracted for. This is attained bysupplying the customer continuously with a uniform fixed maximum -amountof current at a flat rate or controlled meter, which he can usepractically all the time for specificpurposes, and providing means whichautomatically divert part of that-currentfrom the specific purposes, toother uses when desired, so that the company will only be called upon tofurnish a current of fixed wattage and the customer only required to paya fixed definite amount, regardless of the particular uses to which thecurrent is put. With this method of distribution the consumer draws fromthe line for 24 hours a day continuously a predetermined fixed number ofwatts of electrical-energy for use in connection with-certaintranslating apparatus. If he wishes to use other apparatus, the systemis so designed that the simple act of starting 'hot- 10 to 15 gallons ofwater per day.

that apparatus automatically diverts sulficient current for the purposefrom its riginal circuit, so that the consumer can use such apparatus ashe pleases, but cannot draw any more than the specific amount ofcurrent.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanyingdrawings as arranged for supplying a consumer continu-v ously with afixed definite amount of current for operating a water heater. :1.baking and roasting oven, a boiling and stewing cooker and some lamps,and at the same time permitting, without drawing any more current fromthe mains, the turning on of the lights.

In the'system illustrated, C indicates a cooker of the fireless typehaving the usual heat non-conducting walls and provided with anelectrical heating resistance r of, for example, 45 watts capacity. Ifthis apparatus is supplied with substantially this amount of current ata fixed voltage, say 60 volts, for practically the entire 24 hours, itsinternal temperature will keep at about 250 R, which has been foundsuflicient For boiling and stewing tood. 0 indicates an oven, also ofthe fireless type, having the usual heat non-conducting walls' andprovided with two electrical heating resistances r, for example, of'30watts capacity each. With these energized by this amount of (iO-voltcurrent for practically 2 1 hours, the oven temperature will be about350 F which has been found to be a good baking and roasting temperature.The water heater which is indicated may have a percolator P providedWith a heating resistance 1', of say 100 watts capacity, for heating astream of water, and a tank T- provided with a heating resistance?" ofsay 30 watts capacity for keeping hot the water heated by thepercolator. It has been demonstrated that such a heating apparatus, ifsupplied continuously for practically 24 hours with 130 watts of 60-voltcurrent, will heat and keep L indicates a 15-watt incandescent lamp ofcommon variety. The wires of the resistances of these pieces ofapparatus are connected with the wire of the inductive transformer coilT of 250 watts capacity, 250 watts being the aggregate capacity of thetranslating apparatus mentioned for the ends of the conducting levers.

illustration. In the system illustrated as showing the method ofapplying this invention, the wire I- of the percolator resistance isconnected directly with the wire of the transformer coil; the wire ofthe cooker resistance is connected with a terminal 1; the wire of theupper oven resistance is connected with the terminal 2; the wire -l ofthe lower oven resistance is connected with the terminal 3; the wire ofthe tank resistance is connected with the terminal 4; and the wire ofthe lamp is connected with the terminal 5. Adapted to normally makecontact with the terminal 1 is the end of a conducting lever (3; adaptedto normally make contact with the terminal 2 is the end of a conductinglever 7; adapted to normally make contact with the terminal 3 is the endof a conducting lever 8; adapted to normally make contact with theterminal 4 is the end of a conducting lever 9; and adapted to normallymake contact with the terminal 5 is the end of a conducting lever 10.These levers are indicated as pivoted on a bar 11 which is connectedwith the wire of the transformer coil. Under normal conditions the endsof these levers are engaged with the several terminals.

When the system above described is in use, the transformer takes 250watts of current continuously from the main line M. This is distributedthrough the circuits mentioned for practically 24 hours a day, and asthe demand is uniform and continuous, this small wattage of current canbe supplied from the central station at a low flat rate for a giventerm.

In the apparatus indicated by the drawing and used as an illustration ofan embodiment of the invention, there is a lever 12 pivoted at 13 so asto extend adjacent to This lever is normally held away from theconducting levers by means of a spring 14. The free end of this lever isconnected with an electro-magnet armature. lin the form shown thisarmature is the core 15 of the solenoid 16. One end of the solenoid coilis connected with the transformer coil, and the other end of thesolenoid coil is connected with the wire of the lamps 17. The lamp wireh is connected with the wire of the transformer. Ten 15-watt lamps areindicated for the purpose of illustration.

Practically all of the 250 watts of current, which is suppliedcontinuously for 24 hours, goes through the water heater, cooker, oven,and one lamp. If theconsumer desires one light at any particularlocality, when he switches it on, 15 watts of the current flows throughthe solenoid coil. This draws in the core and causes the solenoid lever12 to engage the conductor lever 10 so as to lift its end from theterminal 5 and open the circuit of lamp L. If two more lamps are turnedon, enough current passes through the solenoid to draw the core fartherin and cause its lever to engage the conductor lever 9 and open thecirucit at terminal 4. This cuts out the heater coil in the Water tank.As more lamps are turned on more of the heating coils are cut out.should be turned on at the same time, which is not often the case,suflicient current would flow through the solenoid to draw in the coreand cause the lever 12 to engage all the conductor levers and open allthe circuits containing the heating coils of the cooker, oven, and watertank. As the lighted lamps are switched off, the amount of currentflowing through the solenoid is reduced so as' to relieve the pull onthe solenoid core and allow the spring 14 to move the lever 12 out ofengagement with the several conductor levers, permitting these conductorlevers to again close the circuits containing the 0011s of the variousapparatus. The position of the lever 12 with relation to the conductinglevers depends upon the amount of current flowing through the solenoid,consequently, the amount of current that is diverted from the cooker,oven and water tank depends upon the number of lamps that are switchedin. When all of the lamps are turned off, all the current is redirectedto the cooking and heating apparatus.

It is of course understood-that this invention is not limited to theparticular varieties of apparatus mentioned, nor to apparatus which usesthe specified quantities of current, nor is it limited to a systemutilizing alternating current. The types of ap paratus and currentfigures given are merely illustrative and apply to an embodiment of theinvention which has proved practical in the case of such a customer ashas been mentioned as an example.

The invention claimed is:

1. The improvement in the art of distributing electrical energy tovarious electrical translating apparatus which 'COIlSlSCS incontinuously supplying a current of uniform voltage and fixed wattage ofless amount than the aggregate capacity of the translating apparatus butof sufficient amount to cause certain of the electrical translatingapparatus to perform their normal functions, automatically divertingfrom said translating apparatus a suflicient quantity of current fortemporarily energizing other translating apparatus when the latterapparatus are switched in. and automatically re-directlng the divertedcurrent to the former apparatus when the latter apparatus are switchedout,

whereby the amount of current used never varies.

2. The improvement in the art of heating and lighting, which consists incontlnuously supplying an electric current of uniform voltage and fixedWattage of less If all of the lamps amount than the aggregate capacityof the ing apparatus when the lamps are switched 10 heating apparatusand lighting apparatus out, whereby the amount of current used lplut ofsufiicient amount to pause tlllie electrical never varies.

eating apparatus to per orm t eir normal 5 functions, automaticallydiverting from said heating apparatus sufiicient quantity of current fortemporarily energizing lamps, when Witnesses: the lamps are switched in,and automatically JOHN E. LYNCH, re-directing the diverted current tothe heata H, R. WILLIAMS.

